Lies, Lies, Everywhere Lies.

I am so tired of being told the same lies over and over again as if it will turn the lies into truth. These lies are not the usual ones told by dishonest people, or small lies to fudge things, instead they are the ones people tell themselves to justify their actions or their behavior.

One such lie is “I can multitask!”. I hear this time and time again from students during class as they check their facebook, instagram, or even play a game rather than doing the expected work. They aren’t multitasking because they are actually focused on the current digital page at any moment. Unfortunately, when it comes time for a quiz, assignment or other assessment, they don’t do well.

Another lie is the “I’m just listening to music.” as they put their earphones in and are constantly changing the song they want to listen to. Unfortunately, they pay more attention to their music choice than to the material they are supposed to be studying.

I love the lie “I’m just watching a video on the topic.” When you peek over their shoulder they are playing their favorite game or watching a video of some teenager who has posted some antic they find amusing rather than learning the current topic. Some are even catching up on watching those sports clips showing something that made the news.

Another great lie is “I’m just using the calculator” as they plug in mathematical equations for the app or they use Siri to solve so they don’t have to do the work. I’ve explained I want them showing their work because it is just a way of communicating mathematically with me. Unfortunately, when they only write the answers down, they are not communicating their thinking or understanding.

Furthermore, many of my students believe that they don’t need to learn math because the apps will do it all for them. They listen to the lie of the app or online calculators can do all the math for them so they don’t need to understand the concepts behind the equations. They miss out on the connectivity between the real world and the beauty of the mathematical explanations describing it.

Under normal circumstances, most people hear only about 50 percent of what is being said at any one time. This percentage drops when a person is focused on their mobile device. In addition, they are constantly changing their choice of programming so their attention span has also decreased and they have a need to be entertained.

I love mobile devices but as tools to be used in appropriate situations. I am against the fact that too many students live their lives focused on the immediate gratification provided by social media, videos, and other platforms rather than learning to use the choices offered by mobile devices to actually do well at school.

I feel as if students and people tell this lies to justify their choices and make them legitimate rather than taking responsibility for allowing themselves to be distracted. I do have a cell phone at work but only so I can contact the administration should an emergency arise. Otherwise, I leave it in my desk because it interfers with my ability to teach. I try not to buy into these lies, so I do not loose track of what needs to be done each and every day.

I would love to hear what you think about this topic. Have a great day.